RATIONALE: Gathering information about the Gleason score, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, and cancer stage from patients who have undergone radiation therapy for prostate cancer may help doctors predict how patients respond to treatment and help plan the best treatment.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying the Gleason score, PSA level, and cancer stage in predicting outcome in patients who have undergone radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

• Evaluate the value of the pre-operative Gleason score, prostate-specific antigen level, and clinical stage in predicting the risk of failure and death in patients who have undergone radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patient medical records are reviewed to collect data about pre-treatment prostate biopsy, assigned Gleason score, prostate-specific antigen level, and radionucleotide bone scan.

Patients complete a Bowel Toxicity questionnaire to assess quality of life related to acute and long-term bowel toxicity after radiotherapy.

• Prostate Cancer
• Radiation Toxicity

• Other: medical chart review
• Other: questionnaire administration
• Procedure: quality-of-life assessment
• Radiation: brachytherapy
• Radiation: radiation therapy

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate
• Has undergone radiotherapy (external beam radiotherapy and/or brachytherapy) with or without hormonal therapy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate in the UCSF Radiation Oncology Department at San Francisco General Hospital or Veterans Administration Medical Center of San Francisco between 1987 and 2006

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics